October 2024 International Inbound Visitor Spending
Record-Setting International Visitor Spending in October 2024
Data recently released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that in October 2024:
- International visitors spent a record-setting $21.6 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States during the month of October, an increase of nearly 8 percent compared to October 2023.
- Conversely, Americans spent $21.4 billion traveling abroad during October, yielding a $198 million balance of trade surplus for travel and tourism-related goods and services.
- International visitors have spent nearly $210.0 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services year to date (January through October 2024), an increase of 13 percent when compared 2023; international visitors have injected, on average, $691 million a day into the U.S. economy year to date.
- Annual international visitor spending in the United States is expected to reach an all-time high at year-end (2024), surpassing the previous record set back in 2018 when international visitors spent a record-setting $242.0 billion experiencing the United States.
- U.S. travel and tourism exports accounted for 22.7 percent of U.S. services exports during October 2024 and 8.1 percent of all U.S. exports, goods and services alike.
Composition of Monthly Spending (Travel Exports)
Travel Spending
- Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $12.2 billion during October 2024 (compared to $11.2 billion in October 2023), an increase of 8 percent when compared to the previous year. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel.
- Travel receipts accounted for 56 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in October 2024.
- Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $12.2 billion during October 2024 (compared to $11.2 billion in October 2023), an increase of 8 percent when compared to the previous year. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel.
Passenger Fare Receipts
- Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled $3.2 billion in October 2024 (compared to $3.1 billion in the previous year), up 5 percent when compared to October 2023. These receipts represent expenditures by foreign residents on international flights provided by U.S. air carriers.
- Passenger fare receipts accounted for 15 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports during October.
- Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled $3.2 billion in October 2024 (compared to $3.1 billion in the previous year), up 5 percent when compared to October 2023. These receipts represent expenditures by foreign residents on international flights provided by U.S. air carriers.
Medical/Education/Short-Term Worker Spending
- Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States, totaled $6.2 billion in October 2024 (compared to $5.7 billion in October 2023), an increase of 9 percent when compared to the previous year.
- Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker expenditures accounted for 29 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in October 2024.
- Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States, totaled $6.2 billion in October 2024 (compared to $5.7 billion in October 2023), an increase of 9 percent when compared to the previous year.
Interested in an interactive data visualization of these statistics? Please visit our Monthly Travel Trade Monitor for a more comprehensive and customizable experience.
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